Wednesday

We had breakfast and met Abraham for our third day of work. We made a quick stop at the fruit stand to pickup bananas for the families. We built two more latrines. Each latrine is just a little different depending on the preparation by the family.

On one site we had to carry the pre-made concrete lid about 50 ft to the hole. It took 10 of us to move it. That much effort at 5,000 feet can really sap you for a while.

After work we had hamburgers and hot dogs at the restaurant made special for us. We also had a special drink made from ground oats.

Eric took us about 30 minutes south to Mitla to view another ruins site. This one was built about 1,500 years ago and later taken over by the Catholic friars who came to convert the indigenous people. They built a church on the site using materials from the original stone buildings.

The workmanship by the original builders is amazing. And their buildings have withstood many earthquakes with little damage. They really knew how to build stuff.

We headed back to the hotel and then to the plaza for dinner. There was a band playing and folks were all dressed up for dancing. The dances are all traditional and very elegant.

While we were eating we were contacted by several street vendors who successfully sold us some of their wares. They love to bargain and Goni and Darwin gave them a run for their pesos. We all had to bring back gifts for family and friends.

Tomorrow we will work with Adam at the site and learn a little more about other area projects. We will also go with Eric to visit the town he grew up in nearby.